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XP SP3 vs. Vista SP1 - Which is fastest?

In the TalkBack section on my post looking at SP3 benchmarks, _deitrich asked a really good question:Adrian, how about a comparison of XP SP3 vs Vista SP1? Oui? C'est possible? Good question!
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

In the TalkBack section on my post looking at SP3 benchmarks, _deitrich asked a really good question:

Adrian, how about a comparison of XP SP3 vs Vista SP1? Oui? C'est possible?

Good question! Fortunately I've already done a fair bit of the groundwork in that I used the Phenom 9700 system I have for benchmarking both XP SP3 and Vista SP1.

I benchmarked both operating systems using PassMark PerformanceTest 6.1 and bringing together the results from both tests allows me to answer _deitrich's question.

Note: The hardware configuration of the Phenom 9700 remained unchanged between the two tests and similar optimizations steps were carried out for each OS.

XP Professional:

  • XP RTM PassMark rating: 1001.4
  • XP SP2 PassMark rating: 891
  • XP SP3 PassMark rating: 990.8

Vista 32-bit:

  • Vista RTM PassMark rating: 1002.4
  • Vista SP1 PassMark rating: 972.3

Vista 64-bit:

  • Vista RTM PassMark rating: 1183.1
  • Vista SP1 PassMark rating: 1128.8

Throughout the testing the hardware platform has remained unchanged. 

Graphs

The data speaks for itself. At the top of the list is Windows Vista 64-bit, while at the bottom is XP SP2. In the middle we have XP RTM, XP SP3, Vista 32-bit RTM and Vista 32-bit SP1 fighting it out. However, benchmarks scores such as Passmark don't translate well into real world performance indicators. Later on today I'll publish my gaming benchmark results which will pick up on a post I made in February. Stay tuned!

One system, one set of data points. Thoughts?

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